Unwrapping the Eye Candy
by iTrippedandfellforyou
Summary: He's that boy that makes you stop and stare as he passes by, but someone who you'd probably never get along with. Just a piece of eye candy. This piece is going to be kind of hard to avoid, though, since Finland is spending his nights in its bedroom.
1. this book has an attractive cover

**Title: **Unwrapping the Eye Candy (1/?)  
**Author/Artist: **blackwingsblueeyes  
**Character(s)/Pairing(s): **DenmarkxFinland. some SwedenxFinland. (maybe eventual PrussiaxHungary, NorwayxSweden, and/or IcelandxSealand?)**  
****Genre:** Romance/Friendship.  
**Rating: **T  
**Warnings: **Drugs and stereotyping.  
**Summary: **AU. _Love at first sight_ is a load of bull. Finland knows that. He is not in love with that boy from the park. He can't be in love with that boy. He won't let himself be in love with that boy.

But something about the boy's smile has caught his interest.

**A/N: **In case your mind instantly goes to the gutter~~, I don't mean the title like _that_. Much love goes to Amethyst DragonRider for beta-ing this for me. -hugs-

**Enjoy!**

**Unwrapping the Eye Candy**

The car was moving a lot slower than it would've been if Finland had been driving. It made the seventeen-year-old antsy, his pulse was pumping at too fast a rhythm for the car's speed to keep up with. He wasn't in any emergency though, so Finland wasn't about to complain to Norway about this. They would get there when they got there.

The Finn's fingers fiddled with his seat belt, his eyes sneaking glances at Norway. Seven years had hardly changed his friend, except maybe that Norway's hair was a little longer and his shoulders a little broader.

Norway's quiet companionship hadn't changed at all, it seemed like. Finland had thought that Norway would've had a million questions for him. The Finn had been living away from this town for _seven years. _That's a lot of time to be wondering and thinking up questions.

But no questions had been asked. Norway had definitely greeted him warmly, even giving the Finn a tight hug. But Finland hadn't shared his stories, he hadn't been asked to. He wasn't so disappointed by this, he didn't have many stories to tell anyway.

Russia's home had not been a very fun place.

The landscape outside the window changed greatly as the car finally made it out of the woods. The little town seemed so much bigger now, more lively than Finland remembered. It looked like Italy had finally opened his pasta restaurant, and Switzerland his hunting rifle shop. Finland made a mental note to pop in and say hi sometime before he left town again.

"You see that game going on over there?" Norway spoke, causing Finland to stop staring out the window and look at him. Norway flicked his head towards the park, his eyes not even leaving the road.

"Uh-huh," Finland answered. It looked like a bunch of guys were just messing around with a disc. But maybe they were playing a game of ultimate frisbee or something like that.

"Iceland and Denmark are somewhere over there, maybe you'll see them when we pass by," Norway explained, turning the car onto the street of the park.

"Oh. Cool." Finland smiled, leaning forward a little and searching the crowd of players. Most everyone had their backs to him, so Finland couldn't really tell anyone apart. His shoulders sagged slightly, but he knew he'd still see Iceland and Denmark _and _Sweden later. He'd just have to wait a little longer.

Anyone would have to admit that some of these guys had some really nice backsides, Finland couldn't help but notice. There was one in particular that caught his attention, because the guy was taller and more built than his friends. His hair looked kind of cool from the back, too.

Finland jumped, slightly _embarrassed _when Norway honked the horn and slowed down the car even more. Finland looked out the back window; there were no cars behind them so it didn't matter if they stopped.

A fair-haired boy next to the tall one turned around first, tapping the other boy's shoulder and pointing to Norway's car. The tall boy was too caught up in the game, so he didn't look Finland's way. Norway held up a hand in greeting to the white-haired guy, and the smaller boy reluctantly waved a hand back and then turned his attention back to the game.

Norway turned his attention back to driving, seeming only to really have been concerned with the one boy.

The white-haired boy's friend - _the tall one with the nice hair_ - turned to look then, and he smiled a huge, toothy grin when he set eyes on Norway. Finland gripped the seat belt a little tighter, his eyes leaving the boy's face as his brain malfunctioned and his pulse skipped a beat. He wished Norway would drive by faster, he didn't want to look at that boy again. It always made him feel kind of strange to look at a stranger too long, like he was judging them by their looks and mannerisms before he even knew them.

It was obvious that this boy was an athlete, Finland saw as he gave in and looked again. Broad shoulders, toned arms, the guy must've been lifting weights. He had a fairly decent tan, too, so he must've been spending a lot of time outdoors. He had on jeans with a huge hole in the knee--and maybe Finland was imagining it, but he thought the fabric looked stained around the hole--so the guy was probably into that whole ripped-clothes fad.

(Finland knew he was probably looking way too far into this.)

More than likely, this guy was just an arrogant, overly-cheerful jock. He obviously had a lot of confidence, with the way his shoulders were held and his chin was up.

Muscular, tan-ish, awesome hair, confident. Kinda-sorta has a gorgeous smile. This guy was walking eye candy. Finland blinked as they turned the corner and he lost sight of the boy.

_Seriously, what kind of a superficial loser am I? _The poor guy, Finland sent a silent apology for judging him. He looked out the window and tried not to focus his eyes on anyone else. They drove through the main street of the town and kept going until the buildings thinned out again. And of course, the drive was without conversation.

"We're here," Norway announced as he turned off the car and unlocked the locks. Finland hesitated in his seat for a minute, staring out at the house and trying to remember it. He couldn't. He'd been too young when Russia had taken him away.

"Come on," Norway chuckled lightly, opening Finland's door for him. They popped the trunk and got the Finn's bag out. Norway had been surprised at the airport when he'd picked it up, it was very light. Finland hadn't needed to pack much though, he wasn't going to stay here long.

Just as they were heading up the drive, a pair of arms wrapped around Finland's waist, pulling him back into a warm chest.

"So... ya 'member me?" an amused voice asked as the newcomer rested his chin on Finland's head.

Finland dropped the bag, turning around excitedly.

"Sweden!"

The Finn didn't even cringe at his friend's scary-intimidating -- and still somehow happy -- expression, Finland could've competed with the stars for how bright his smile was. He hugged the other close, longer than he had with Norway, and let himself float on this amazing feeling. Because nothing is as warm as the feeling of reconnecting with an old friend.

"Missed ya, Finl'd."

_Seven years away from this feeling._

"I missed you, too Sweden."

**~.~**

Dropping his suitcase onto the bed, Finland looked around the room in interest. There was nothing on the desk or night table. No pictures on the walls. It was like no one was living in this room at all, except for the messy bed and the acoustic guitar leaning against the wall.

"It's Denmark's room, but we'll put you in here anyway," Norway explained, setting a few more blankets and a pillow down at the end of the bed.

"Um, is that okay? I could sleep on the floor, it's not a big deal. I don't want to put him out of his bed." Finland's hand rested on his bag.

Norway crossed the room to the door, turning to glance back at Finland. "You can ask him when he comes back, but I don't think it'll bother Denmark."

Finland's cheeks flushed lightly. "Okay."

Norway stiffened up a little as he glanced down the hall to where the front door was. "Sweden's still waiting for you," he said in a weird tone. "I'll be here at home if you need me."

"Oh!" Finland followed him out of the room. Everything was so bizarre, he couldn't get used to the fact that he'd be seeing Denmark and Iceland _today. _Norway was right in front of him right now. Sweden was outside, waiting patiently for him. All of this, after seven years of not seeing any of his childhood friends.

Finland paused with his hand on the front doorknob, turning around and asking Norway, "So you're not coming with us?"

Norway headed into the kitchen, his voice floating back to the Finn. "Nah. See you later."

"Bye."

The Finn wasn't sure why his pulse sped up while he walked down to Sweden, who was standing at the end of the driveway.

"Sorry you had to wait," Finland said, accompanying smile on his face.

"'s okay."

Finland looked around as they started walking down the sidewalk. This house was on the outskirts of town, there wasn't much to look at except for trees. He could see the shops about a half mile away.

"Where are we going?" the Finn asked, looking up at Sweden. _When had his friend gotten so tall? _They had been almost the same height the last time Finland had stood next to him.

"Dunno."

"I guess we'll just walk around town then," Finland said.

The shorter boy couldn't help but smile, his steps lighter and unevenly paced. He wanted to see everything around these woods--he wanted to look for things he remembered--but at the same time, he wanted to make it to town already and talk to people.

Sweden wasn't in any rush, and Finland matched his speed, taking two steps for the Swede's one.

Again, Finland felt so bizarrely comfortable. Even if this silence was awkward. He felt like he was a kid again, like he was Sweden's friend again. Not that they'd ever stopped being friends. But time and distance does tend to make relationships a lot weaker. And it wasn't like he would talk to Sweden on the phone very much, they hardly even held long conversations when they were face-to-face.

So it was... strangely nice that he felt so... Finland wasn't completely _comfortable_--they'd been walking along in silence for a while now--but he was so _burstingly happy_.

Finally, the Finn broke the silence cheerfully, "How's it been?"

Sweden, who's eyes had been focused ahead of them, glanced down. The smaller boy tried not to squirm, but there was something in his friend's stare that made him slightly nervous.

"'s been okay," Sweden grumbled, then crossed the street at the stoplight, heading back down the road that Finland had been on with Norway earlier. Maybe they'd go by the park and he'd see that frisbee game again.

Finland waited a beat for Sweden to say something else. He didn't. "Okay, so anything exciting happen recently?" Finland tried, wanting to get Sweden talking.

He was silent for a long minute. Then Sweden's footsteps got a little slower, he glanced down again at Finland. The aura he gave off seemed to get a little heavier, his eyes a little more severe than before.

"Denmark got busted," Sweden mumbled.

Finland smiled, thinking this was a good conversation starter.

This was nothing new, Denmark was always getting in trouble with Norway. Finland had been on the receiving end of too many of those pranks himself. A mischievous Denmark, now that was something Finland remembered. "What'd he get caught doing this time?"

"Drugs."

**~.~**

**Thank you for reading! Review, please, if you'd like to?**


	2. warm showers don't satisfy

**Title: **Unwrapping the Eye Candy (2/?)  
**Author/Artist: **blackwingsblueeyes  
**Character(s)/Pairing(s): **DenmarkxFinland. some SwedenxFinland. (maybe eventual PrussiaxHungary, NorwayxSweden, and/or IcelandxSealand?)**  
Genre:** Romance/Friendship.  
**Rating: **T  
**Warnings: **Drugs and stereotyping.  
**Summary: **AU. _Love at first sight_ is a load of bull. Finland knows that. He is not in love with that boy from the park. He can't be in love with that boy. He won't let himself be in love with that boy.

But something about the boy's smile has caught his interest.

**A/N: **I haven't updated this in months. Oh wow, I'm sorry. Not gonna drop excuses, here's the next chapter~ :D

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter Two: Warm Showers Don't Satisfy**

The shops they passed now were pretty typical, coffee and groceries and little clothing places. A blond boy waved to him through a boutique window, and Finland smiled broadly, raising a hand in greeting. He really had no idea who the boy was; the warmth he got from the boy's answering smile made Finland's all the more genuine.

He'd have to come back and talk to him later.

For now, Sweden seemed to have a specific destination in mind, and they didn't have much time to dilly-dally before the sun went down.

As they crossed main street-jay walking, shame on them-the smaller boy's hand searched out the warmer friend's, and found comfort in the firm grip his buddy returned.

"I always hold someone's hand when I cross the street," Finland explained, hoping that his fingers weren't sweaty.

It was so much warmer here than where he had come from. For a brief moment, he felt homesick.

Sweden didn't reply to Finland's comment, and the boy, feeling even more awkward, extracted his hand.

Their fingers disconnected, but then the bespectacled boy's hand chased his and wound their fingers together again.

"So c'ute," Sweden grumbled and lead him over the curb, safely on the sidewalk again.

Finland laughed, covering his mouth. He was never quite sure what to say when he was complimented. Denying it-which was his instinct, because he most certainly was _not_ cute-seemed like such a bratty thing to do. Here someone was, being nice and flattering him, the least he could do was accept it with a laugh.

(The laugh itself was almost a rejection of the compliment, for it hinted that Finland wasn't taking it seriously.)

"Ya hun'gy?"

"Sure," replied Finland, although his stomach was twisted and knotty and nervous and in no mood for food. "Are you?"

"Yah." Sweden always spoke with the same tone, and Finland couldn't tell if it was happy or bored or anything.

Russia always told Finland he was an open book. His word choice, the way he held his shoulders, and how his eyebrows danced as emotion found its way into Finland's eyes made it clear how he was feeling.

Sweden, on the other hand, he was a diary. Locked, closed, with a blank cover, Finland was at a loss to what was on his mind.

He wished he had the key.

(But then again, diaries have secrets that are never meant to be read.)

The unmistakable aroma of pasta breezed by as Finland found himself being lead through an open doorway.

"_Benvenuto_~" a young man greeted them, giving them each a peck on both cheeks. "Nice to see you again, Sweden~ Would you like a table inside or outside?"

The host pulled two menus out, and after Sweden didn't respond, Finland realized he was looking to him for an answer.

"Um... outside... please?" Finland smiled, robotically.

Sweden's silentness was unnerving him a bit, but Finland waved it off.

"Mmkay~ Follow me," the red-head host directed, and lead them through a dim dining room.

The outside was, for lack of more elegant words, frigging fantastic. It was a large balcony overlooking the river, and Finland was pleased to sit at a table right next to the railing so he could enjoy the view.

Instead of leaving after he put the menus down, the red-headed host hovered at the table. "Are you new in town?"

Assuming the question to be directed at him, Finland replied, "I'm just visiting. My name's Finland."

The host laughed randomly. It was a cute sound. "I thought so! Ve~ Ve~ It's nice to see you again!"

For a horrible moment, Finland scrambled to try and recognize who this guy was.

"Yeah, nice to see you too..." _Red hair, weird curl thingie sticking out... pasta restaurant... _"...Italy."

The red-head closed his eyes and smiled a big goofy grin, and the blond remembered. Little Italy, Finland only remembered him because he'd thought it was strange that a boy used to wear dresses.

"Ve~ How are things in the Soviet Union?" Italy took a seat next to Sweden. Finland smiled across the table at their interested looks.

"It's alright. There are many wonderful people over there."

Italy smiled-when did he ever not smile. "There are many wonderful people everywhere."

Finland laughed, not knowing what to say to that. "...That's true," he finally said with a smile.

_But for every wonderful person in the world, there are about 648 selfish bastards._

**~.~**

"I'm totally gonna pay next time," Finland announced to his buddy, as they left the restaurant.

"Mmkay, next time."

They both smiled, because there would be many next times in this friendship.

"Hey! We should walk down by the river!" suggested the smaller boy. He could hear it somewhere off to their right, he could imagine how the moonlight would reflect the rushing water.

"No, 'tis m'ddy." Sweden shook his head.

Finland's expression fell. "...Okay." He laughed for no reason. "Muddy shoes are no fun."

_Why did I say that? _He didn't particularly care about muddy shoes, you could always clean them later, after you've had your fun.

The town was asleep, with only a few night-lights lighting main street. The river sang a lullaby, while the stars in the sky told a bedtime story.

"Who're wond'ful p'ple?" Sweden's soft question brought Finland off his train of thought.

"What?"

Sweden coughed, clearing his throat. "Wond'ful p'ple in Sov't Un'on?"

Blond eyebrows knit as Finland tried to understand. "...Ohh. My roomate is a very wonderful person. And his little brother is so adorable! They wanted to come here with me."

"Names?"

A tweak of annoyance struck Finland. "Estonia and Latvia."

Sweden made an 'ahhh' sound.

"Yep," Finland answered.

Sweden's conversational skills were astounding.

But seriously, why could they never keep a conversation rolling? Finland felt like it was his fault.

They had taken the round-about way back home-to spend a little more time together. It would've been nice, if they were using that time to actually talk about something.

The last shop on the block had it's windows completely plastered with photographs. There was no theme, each picture was unique with different scenes and colors. The only thing connecting them was that, in every single picture, there was this particular model.

She was gorgeous.

The kind of woman that even a homosexual man could appreciate.

Non-surprisingly, the store was closed for the night.

Finland made a mental note to come back to this place.

He was curious as to what her name was. She didn't seem like a Jessica or Caroline. Maybe something weird, like Erin? That seemed closer, but still not perfect...

When he looked up at his big buddy, Sweden's eyes were at half mast, staring straight ahead at their path. He looked very, very tired.

Finland opened his mouth to say something-anything to break out of this weird silence-but he couldn't find what to say.

There were so many random things he could say. He could've been sharing his inner musings this whole time. But... Sweden's replies were disappointing.

NO, _no, _scratch that.

Finland couldn't be disappointed with Sweden.

He could feel his body trembling now, and he wondered why this was upsetting him. It wasn't even a big deal; Sweden hadn't really done anything wrong.

(_Sweden hadn't really done anything _right _either.)_

"Lo'k, fireflies," Sweden murmured, pointing in the direction of the park. It was the same one that the frisbee game had been in.

He had been biting his lip, but as soon as he saw the pricks of glowing happiness, Finland's mouth fell open. Half of him wanted to stare-he wished his eyes could snap a picture of exactly what he saw-and the other half wanted to run in there, to dance and twirl to the lullaby of the river.

The grin on his face matched the glow of the fireflies, as he looked back to Sweden. Looking to his friend for a sign of telepathy, because Finland wanted Sweden to dance with him.

Sweden's face was as clear as ever. "Come 'n."

Sweden walked away, but not in the direction Finland wanted.

The smaller boy's knees shook, he looked at the field and took a picture in his memory. For some reason, he saw the spiky-haired boy too, in the middle of the little floating lights. It would've made a beautiful photograph.

Finland turned and hastened off to catch up with Sweden.

When they were almost home, Sweden asked how long Finland was staying in town.

"Two more days."

That was hardly any time.

**~.~**

It was hot.

Incredibly hot.

And he didn't have pants on.

These were the first things Finland noticed as he drifted into awareness the next morning.

Oh, and the bed was way too comfortable to be his.

Understandably, it was with a little worry that Finland's eyes opened and he sat up. No one was in the room with him, it would be okay to get out of bed and dress. Which is what he did.

(He must've pulled off his pajama bottoms sometime last night to make the heat more bearable.)

He hadn't talked to Denmark about the whole 'bed-issue'. Denmark hadn't come home the night before.

_Maybe Denmark was off somewhere shady, getting high._

It was a horrible thought, but Finland wondered.

The ashy-blond peaked out of his door and saw only Norway in the kitchen. Finland smiled, relieved. He'd have time to prepare himself, because honestly, he was a bit nervous to meet Denmark.

It was still ridiculously hot, so after Finland put a pair of pants on, he opted to go shirtless around the house. He couldn't stand the heat, his home was the polar opposite of this place.

As he padded barefoot into the kitchen, Norway set a mug of coffee on the bar for him.

"Thank you." Finland pulled out a stool and sat.

"No problem. Do you want sugar and milk?"

"No, thanks." The visitor smiled.

Around Norway, Finland didn't feel self-conscious. Norway had only been nice to him so far. He was just a bit weary of Iceland and Denmark.

Finland asked, "Where's Iceland?"

Norway glanced at the clock. "Still asleep. He got home even later than you last night."

Curiosity made Finland want to ask where he'd been, but he didn't.

He sat and drank his coffee, wondering how Sweden was this morning. And where he was. And what he was thinking about. And who was he with?

Finland's empty mug made a clinking noise when he set it down, and Norway rinsed it out for him.

"Thank you," the ashy-haired boy started to say, but Norway's attention was out the window.

"Denmark's coming," Norway said, and Finland stood.

He peaked out of the mini-blinds, but all he saw was a black shirt.

And then Finland was suddenly aware of his own shirtless-ness.

"I'm gonna go change," he told Norway, rushing out the kitchen doorway.

He came face-to-chest with a black shirt.

"Ahh, sorry!" he exclaimed, and stepped back quickly, trying not to spaz out.

Finland was red to the tips of his ears. His exposed chest was even blushing.

Heart pounding, his hand raised in greeting. "Umm, hi."

This was very awkward.

Finland was very aware that this was the guy from the park.

...

The guy blinked, then, "I'm Denmark."

He took the hand that Finland had raised and shook it.

The both smiled, matching awkward grins.

"I know. I'm Finland." It was said in the teasing 'duh' kind of way.

"Wow." Denmark's dark blue eyes seemed to wake up; they looked the shorter boy over. "I was still picturing you as a ten year old."

Finland didn't know if he liked that or not.

As the dark eyes examined his seventeen year old, half naked body, Finland said laughing, "Ummm... I'm gonna go put a shirt on now."

Denmark laughed.

**~.~**

**I hope you liked it. Summer's almost here again, so I'll be updating a bit more. Review if you'd like to, and thank you for reading. :D **


	3. gullible is written on the ceiling

**Title: **Unwrapping the Eye Candy (3/?)  
**Author/Artist: **blackwingsblueeyes. !**NAME CHANGED:** iTrippedandfellforyou  
**Character(s)/Pairing(s): **DenmarkxFinland. some SwedenxFinland. (maybe eventual PrussiaxHungary, NorwayxSweden, and/or IcelandxSealand?)**  
Genre:** Romance/Friendship.  
**Rating: **T  
**Warnings: **Drugs and stereotyping.  
**Summary: **AU. _Love at first sight_ is a load of bull. Finland knows that. He is not in love with that boy from the park. He can't be in love with that boy. He won't let himself be in love with that boy.

But something about the boy's smile has caught his interest.

**A/N:** Hey, guys! I hope everyone's having a good summer so far! :D

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter Three: Gullible is Written On the Ceiling**

It probably wasn't necessary to take so long putting on a shirt.

But really, first you have to pick the shirt you want, then you have to brush out the wrinkles, then scrunch it up and put your head through, then your arms, then...

It wasn't like Finland was nervous to go back in there. Pfft, no.

There was a mirror hanging on the wall, but the ashy-blond didn't look inside. He didn't need to. He wasn't self-conscious, he didn't care what he looked like. Really, it didn't matter.

But what if his hair was messed up? His bangs had a tendency to sweep too much to one side, and he needed to fix that so he took a quick peak in the looking glass. Bright violet eyes stared back at him, so wide and nervous-looking that it made him bite his lip.

_Why do I look so frightened?_

His eyebrows sunk and set his eyes hard again. He had no reason to be nervous. Just twenty minutes ago, he'd been perfectly comfortable with Norway.

What had caused this shaky feeling he had now? ...Finland wasn't going to answer that.

Feeling slightly light-headed, the boy headed back to the kitchen. Denmark and Norway were sitting across from each other at the table, not talking. Finland had the feeling they'd been talking about him, and they had gotten silent because he'd walked in.

Finland was paranoid.

"So, have you guys eaten?" Denmark asked, looking at Norway. Finland stared straight at him, but Denmark didn't look his way.

"No," Norway replied. "You hungry?" He looked towards the kitchen, then over at Finland. "We have cinnamon bread."

The ashy-blonde shook his head. "No, thanks."

There were more empty seats at the table, but Finland sat down on the barstool again instead. He twirled in the seat absentmindedly.

"Good morning, bedhead~" sing-songed Denmark as a curly-haired zombie slumped into the room, yawning. The boy's tired eyes focused on Finland, and automatically, Finland stood up. He smiled, already recognizing who this was.

"Iceland, you remember Finland?" Norway started, coming to stand by them.

"Yeah, nice to see you." The white-haired boy smiled cooly.

Finland returned the smile, holding out his hand to shake. He was nudged by Norway, and stumbling a little, he gave Iceland a quick hug. The younger boy was cold, and Finland held onto him, because it reminded him of home.

Iceland gave him a pat on the back and then went to scrounge for something to eat. Still nervous, the violet-eyed boy sat back down and looked towards the table. Denmark was still sitting there, distracted by his cell phone.

It struck Finland that he'd given everyone else a hug but Denmark. But that was okay, it wasn't a big deal.

His fingers texted with ridiculous speed, then Denmark pocketed his phone. "What should we do today?"

With no ideas, Finland and Norway shrugged at the same time and then smiled at each other.

The boy sitting at the table cracked a lazy grin and looked to Norway for a suggestion. "C'mon, we can't do nothing. That's boring."

Norway ran a hand through his hair, which messed up the clip he had on his bangs. Finland was going to say something, but Norway was a step ahead of him and took the clip off completely.

"We could go fishing."

The silence that followed Norway's suggestion showed a lot of enthusiasm.

Finland grimaced, and since he didn't have any better ideas, he agreed, "Yeah! We should invite Sweden."

God, his voice sounded so high and dorky. This was what happened when he got nervous, but _why was he nervous?_

Iceland peaked back into the room, his expression matching Norway's frown. They all looked at Denmark. The grin was gone from the spiky-haired boy's expression.

_Ah, gosh, I've said something wrong._

Denmark pulled his phone back out. "Sweden's working today," he shot down that plan nonchalantly.

The ashy-blond's feet tapped and his fingers drummed on his thigh. He didn't know what to say now. He'd obviously done something wrong to have set this angry atmosphere now. Okay, so obviously Denmark didn't like talking about Sweden. Finland would have to remember that.

In order to escape the awkward silence, Iceland and Norway headed to the garage to get the rods and tackle box. Denmark was already lost in his little texting world.

And Finland just sat there, thinking.

He supposed he could've pulled his phone out and done some texting of his own, but he really didn't feel like having a conversation with anyone right now.

His elbow rested on the bar with his chin on his hand, and he snuck glances at his spiky-haired friend. Gosh, Denmark was the boy from the park. That was crazy. For less than a day, Finland had had a superficial crush on one of his oldest friends.

Blushing, blond eyelashes dusted his cheekbones as he looked down at the bar. He'd forget those thoughts he'd had about that piece of eye candy now. It was okay to have a crush on a stranger, but once that stranger turns into a friend, then things get complicated and it's time to abandon ship.

Denmark coughed.

Oh right. There was also the small fact that Denmark was a druggie. That itself was enough to make Finland want to run away screaming like a drama queen.

Denmark didn't seem like a bad guy, though. Finland had a mental picture of a drug addict, and the clean-shaven, clear blue-eyed boy didn't fit it. _What was that old saying? Don't judge a book by its cover. _Maybe Denmark had an attractive cover, but Finland wondered just how torn up the pages inside were.

The object of Finland's thoughts was still playing with his phone, and the ashy-blond wondered who he was texting. And what they were talking about. It would be amazing if they were talking about him, but Finland knew that was a ridiculously narcissistic thought.

Iceland came back into the room, startling the sitting boys. "Hey, you wanna come with us to buy bait?"

"Umm..."

"Let's all go," Denmark yawned, leaning back in his chair and stretching his arms behind his head.

"No, you need to stay and get the rod's ready, Denmark." Norway peaked in the doorway. "But you can come if you want, Finland."

"Umm..."

Denmark pulled little tufts of his hair, spiking it more. "But Norgeeeee," he whined. "I don't wanna be alone."

Finland laughed at the dramatic pouting face Denmark was making.

The giggle brought the spiky-haired boy's attention to Finland, and he said, "Stay with me, please" in that same over-dramatic way, folding his hands together in front of him and leaning forward.

Tongue-tied, Finland laughed again. "Ah, sure. I will."

**~.~**

"I would help you out, but I have no idea what you're doing."

Denmark looked up at him from his spot on the floor, blue eyes sparked with laughter. "That's okay."

Finland spun on the bar stool and blamed his light-headedness on the motion. It was most certainly _not _Denmark's laugh that made him feel so weird.

Trained fingers threaded the fishing line through the rod, teeth bit the string, and Denmark tugged with his mouth to snap it. The observer blushed, embarrassed that he found that simple action kind of sexy.

It's not that he found Denmark hot or anything. Nah, he couldn't.

And anyway, Finland didn't even know anything about this guy.

The smaller boy was still blushing when Denmark looked up at him and asked if he liked to fish.

"N-not really." _Dammit, I stuttered._

Denmark chuckled lightly, and his ocean eyes bubbled as he leaned in closer. "I don't like it either." He scrunched his nose. "But Norge does," he added, shrugging. There was an indulgent smile lifting his lips, and Finland caught the brief pink that warmed the other's cheeks.

Finland frowned.

That blush bothered him.

**~.~**

"Is it a blade of grass?"

"No."

"How many questions do I have left?"

"None, that was twenty questions." Finland smiled down at his opponent, having just won the game.

"Aww, shit. What was it?" Denmark's bottom lip stuck out dramatically.

"A pine cone."

Wide blue eyes stared at him for a moment, and then Denmark fell back laughing. "Dude," he choked out. "You're supposed to use the first thing that comes to your mind."

Finland's cheek's colored. "Pine cone was the first thing that came to mind."

Denmark lifted his head so he could look Finland in the eye from where he was laying back. "So, when I told you to think of anything, anything in the world, the first thing that came to mind was 'pine cone'?"

"Umm... yeah, pretty much." Finland laughed, not the polite or awkward kind, the genuine happy kind. It had been a while since he'd laughed like this.

"Hey, stop that," Denmark said lightly, sitting up Indian-style. His fingers unconsciously played with his bare feet.

"Stop what?" Finland stared at him, laughter still in his voice.

"Covering your mouth when you laugh. I can't see your smile."

It was odd, but Finland hadn't realized he did that until Denmark pointed it out. "Oh," he said, and forced his hand down. He smiled teasingly at Denmark, a silly movie star grin.

Denmark fell over laughing again.

**~.~**

The sound of Norway's car pulling into the driveway didn't relieve Finland as much as it should have. He had gotten quite comfortable chillin' with the druggie.

He had to keep reminding himself not to get so carefree. It was hard not to, though. Denmark was easy to laugh with, and he was fun to tease.

The cause of Finland's internal conflict stood up now. After brushing off imaginary dust, he came closer to Finland. Way closer. Too much closer. He invaded Finland's personal bubble.

"Hey, Fin," he breathed, slouching a little to be eye level with the boy on the high bar stool. "Do you seriously wanna go fishing?"

Finland leaned back in the seat. "Um, I don't know. Do you?"

Denmark followed him, leaning closer and stealing the will to breathe from Finland's chest. _Why was he so close? It seemed so random, like a stupid dramatic soap opera. _"It's up to you. We can stay here and do something else if you want."

The tall boy's arm bumped Finland's knee, and the ashy-blond tried not to freak out. He was very aware of Denmark's eyes on his, but he couldn't meet them.

He thought about what Denmark had just suggested. "But Norway and Iceland went to the trouble of getting bait. I've gotta go."

Finland smiled, meeting the other's eyes for a split second, and then violet eyes darted away. He hoped he didn't have a weird expression on, sometimes his smiles looked awkward.

Denmark sighed, dramatically leaning a hand on the bar behind Finland. "You don't wanna go. I can tell." _This was true. Finland didn't. _"They'll understand. They'll just go without us."

"Umm... okay."

The answering smile from Denmark made the decision worth it. It was weirdly nice to feel like someone wanted to hang out with him.

"Awesomesauce. I'll go tell 'em." Denmark backed off and staggered through the doorway. About two seconds after he'd disappeared, his head peaked back in. "We'll play games while they're gone."

_Dear God, did Denmark just wink?_

**~.~**

**Sorry if it's confusing. I haven't been getting much sleep lately, and my thoughts are kinda jumbled and whatnot(: Thank you for reading! :D**


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